The term “martial arts” embraces karate, boxing, Taekwondo, Kempo, Muay Thai Kickboxing, MMA, and other disciplines from a variety of backgrounds. Kicking, punching, blocking and/or striking are basic skills common to many, if not all of the martial arts. Students of the martial arts develop such skills through training that typically entails either body to body contact, or body to target contact.
Currently targets used for martial arts training place physical stress on the student's body. Padded, bulky targets lessen impact, but still pose a risk of impact injury to the student. Training effectiveness can be hindered by a tentative student, and poor habits can develop. Additionally, oversized, hard targets require a significant amount of space to store, and can be difficult to move and secure in place for proper training.
In traditional martial arts training, an instructor may hold a piece of X-Ray film in place for a student to kick or punch. Frequently, this training technique results in injury to the instructor (e.g., when a student misses the film, but hits the instructor). Also, the release of potentially harmful chemicals from the X-Ray film itself may pose the threat of long term consequences for the trainer and/or the student from repeated use.
Accordingly, a need exists for a striking target useful in martial arts training that is compact in size, easy to use, and protects both the trainer and the student from injury.